Kyle collapses to his knees, palms flat on the floor, breath coming in shaky bursts.
“I swear—I swear I don’t know anything,” he blurts out. “I don’t. They only communicate with me through anonymous links and send my payment the same way.”
My jaw flexes. “Is it her mother?” I ask, voice low and lethal. “Did she put you up to this? Did she send you here to dig into my house and spy on us?”
“I don’t know!” Kyle’s voice cracks with desperation. “Her mother only insisted I follow Vivian here to keep her safe. That’s all she said. I swear! I swear that’s all I was told.”
I stare at him, searching for the lie.
Kyle keeps talking, words tumbling over each other in fear.
“But the messages…the intel requests…they could come from her. I don’t know. I’m not sure. All I know is—” He swallows hard, shame or fear—or both—burning on his face. “They paid thousands of dollars for every detail I sent. And I—I needed the money.”
I take a slow breath, the temperature in the room dropping with it.
“So you sold us,” I say softly. “Sold her.”
Kyle squeezes his eyes shut. “I didn’t know they’d attack. I didn’t know they’d try to kill anyone. I thought—they just wanted information. I swear, I swear—”
I crouch in front of him, lifting his chin with two fingers until he’s forced to meet my gaze.
“You didn’t need to know their plans,” I murmur. “You just needed to betray her. And you did.”
His breath stutters. “Dimitri—please—”
“No.” I rise to full height, staring down at him like the insect he is. “You’re done begging.”
His face goes pale.
I turn slightly toward Sylvester, ready to tell him to take control of the situation—but a flash of movement slices through the edge of my vision.
Steel.
A knife.
And Kyle’s eyes—wide, wild, desperate—locked on my throat.
I pivot with only a split second to spare. My hand snaps out, catching his wrist mid-swing. The force of his attack drives him forward, off balance.
I rip the knife from his grip and, in the same breath, plunge it straight into his chest. The sound he makes isn’t a scream. It’s a wet gasp—shocked, choked, pathetic. His eyes widen.
His hands claw weakly at my shirt as if he’s trying to hold on to life—or maybe to take me with him.
Behind me, someone screams.
Vivian.
Her voice is sharp and ragged, tearing through the hallway like glass.
I let Kyle’s body drop to the floor with a dull, final thud and turn toward her.
She’s standing frozen in the doorway, breathing hard, her eyes wide with fear and horror. Her chest rises and falls too fast, like she can’t get enough air.
For a moment, we just stare at each other.
“Are you scared of me?” I ask, my voice low, rough.
“What? No.”
